Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
by Elandil
Summary: Not everything that goes bump in the night is scary, it can be sweet too! Another one shot in my 'Sending Out Flares' Verse. For Larisya.


**A/N: Hey guys, this is Lrisya's prize for being the 100th reviewer. They wanted '** **something with harry, hot chocolate, and any of his to-be guardians' so here's a fluffy little oneshot that I hope you enjoy!**

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"_Boy!"_

Whimpering, the young boy curled into an even tighter ball where he lay, half obscured beneath the shelf of cleaning products. He knew the sound of that voice, knew that it meant nothing good for him, yet he couldn't make himself move. It was always worse when he tried to get away.

Slowly, heavy footsteps boomed down from above him, each step shaking off more dust that settled over the boy, but he didn't dare move enough to shake it off. Maybe if he just kept quiet enough then he wouldn't be found?

10 booming footfalls later and the sound was no longer coming from above him but off the side. It was only by sinking his teeth further into his shaking hand that he was able to keep quiet with every step the giant took closer to his hiding place.

5 steps down the hallway, no longer echoing but still audible on the hallway's padded rug. A rapid drum beat began to sound in his ears, the sound of his heart trying its own escape attempted. He hoped dearly that it wouldn't be audible from outside.

The sound stopped only a foot away from his face, the faint light that had bled in through the grating suddenly cut off. Freak held his breath, barely even noticing the coppery tang that was beginning to fill his mouth.

Slowly, oh so slowly, he could hear the lock being drawn back and the cupboard handle beginning to turn. He squeezed his eyes till galaxy began to swirl in the darkness, wishing to be anywhere but here. Through his eyelids he could just about see the light beginning to return to his tiny cupboard as the door was gradually eased open and…

**~BANG~**

With a startled gasp, Freak jack-knifed off the pillows, eyes blown wide and heart threatening to beat out of his chest. In his panicked state it didn't immediately register where he was and, when he felt the presence of someone behind him he flinched away, arms coming up on instinct to protect his head from a blow.

It never came.

As the pounding in his ears finally settled, he noticed that he was sitting on something way too soft to be in his cupboard, and the long, deep breaths beside him sounded nothing like Uncle Vernon's angry pants. What had happened?

It took a long time to build up the courage needed to lower his arms enough to peer through the gap, but when he did he was met by the sleeping face of the man in the bed beside him. A man with messy dark hair, pale skin and a stern face gone lax in sleep. Who?

A part of him really wanted to reach out and tug at the man's sideburns, they looked like they would be so much fun to play with, but he held back. Something told him that the man was a light sleeper and he didn't want to do anything to wake him up, he seemed scary, despite the voice in the back of his head that pointed out how warm the man was, how safe it would feel to be wrapped up in those long, long arms. Why shouldn't Freak just curl up against him like he'd been before?

He _really _wanted to.

But the man was dangerous, there was no denying that.

For a second he could only sit there, instincts waging war inside his head, but eventually the shaky energy that buzzed through his body demanded movement.

Gently, Freak eased himself off the bed, holding his breath as he kept a close eye on the man on the bed. He didn't even twitch. With a sigh of relief, Freak started to move towards the door, carefully moving on tippy-toes in an effort to be as quiet as possible.

~SQUEAK~

Freak's heart froze in his throat as the noise split the silence. Thankfully, the man on the bed only shifted a little before his breathing evened out again and Freak let out a silent sigh of relief as he quickly moved his foot off of the toy. It took even longer to reach the glowing outline of the door, every step taken with painstaking care in order to avoid anything else that might try to give him away, but eventually he made it. Closing the heavy door behind him with a soft thud he cast his eyes around the hallway.

The corridor was really long, stretching out like arms on either side of him to the point that he couldn't see the ends. Beneath his feet, the wooden floor was freezing he nearly turned around and went back to the nice warm bed, but now that he was up, something was urging him to go left…

At least the lights were on.

The decoration was weird, nothing at all like the magazines that Aunt 'Tunia left out on the coffee table whenever anyone came over, but Freak couldn't help but think it was nice. There were no patterns on the walls, no fluffy carpets on the floor instead, everything was a mixture of cream, orange and grained wood. It was… warm.

The tugging in his chest led him to a giant stairway and Freak slipped his thumb into his mouth. It was a long way down and the steps were _big! _

Another bang sounded down there, but instead of being scared, Freak could only feel concerned. He _needed _to go down there. Freak was going to have to be brave.

Taking a tight grip on the bar of the banister, he lowered himself to the step below. He wobbled a little, feet sliding on the cold stone that made him want to shy away, but it wasn't that bad. Step by step, he lowered himself down until he finally landed on rug at the bottom. Here he was forced to stop to catch his breath, arms and legs beginning to feel like jelly. Why was he doing this?

Another bang sounded, behind him now, and an echo of pain flared in his chest. Taking a deep breath, he started forward again.

Down here the corridors were all dark, filled with looming shadows that had Freak moving quickly past them. He didn't want to know what would happen if he stayed to long here so instead he fixed his eyes on the glowing shape of a door and refused to look to either side. If he couldn't see what was in the darkness, they couldn't see him. He hoped.

When he could finally see through the slightly opened door, Freak froze, holding his breath as he attempted to see what was on the other side. At first he didn't see anything until…

~BANG~

The noise made Freak jump, but at least now he knew where to look. When he first saw the blond hair, he nearly ran back to his room. No matter how tired he felt, he didn't want Uncle Vernon to see him here, he might think that Freak was trying to steal food and then he'd be punished… only, it wasn't his Uncle.

The blond man was too tall and too thin. His muscled arms clearly visible due to his sleeveless top. Uncle Vernon had never looked like that.

Just like with the man upstairs, the sight of this stranger made something twinge in the back of his head, but before he could think about it anymore, the man moved to slam his head into the table again and something within Freak panicked.

"Don't!"

It took Freak a second to realise that _he _had been the one to shout and he slapped his hands over his mouth. Before he could turn and run like his instincts demanded however, the man looked over, pain and confusion shining deep in those bright blue eyes and Freak… couldn't move.

"Harry?"

In the time it took him to blink, those arms were wrapped around him tight and everything clicked into place. Being locked out in the cold, his wish to Santa, the lights and the nice people that came with them… he wasn't with the Dursleys, not anymore.

Held tight against that warm chest, face lodged into the man's neck, the tension that had gripped him since he woke up next to _Reborn_ (and how could he possibly be scared of the man who healed all his bruises and held him tight every night before he went to sleep), let go.

"Nello!"

"Shhhh, shhh Colibri, no need to cry. Did you have a bad dream?"

Harry tried his best to answer, but it felt like a rock had lodged itself in his throat so that every time he tried to speak he choked instead. It was fine though, Colonnello understood him anyway.

"Aww, Harry, there's no need to be scared, we'll protect you."

Right here, held so gently and with such strength, it was hard not to believe the words whispered into his hair but the ache in his chest refused to fade. It took him a moment to realise that the fear and pain… weren't all coming from him. He tried to reach out, to pull the pale blue light closer to his own, but they danced away from his touch.

"Nello?"

"Hmmm."

"Don't be sad."

The arms around him loosed for a second and he used this to wriggle around enough to return the hug, pulling the man as tight as he could when he was only able to reach a little way round his back. In his mind, he mirrored his actions, reaching out to surrounded the pale blue light with his own amber. For a moment, Colonello was stiff, shock, confusion or even pain holding him still as a statue, but then the man let out a sigh and practically melted against Harry.

"I'm not sad Colibri, promise."

That was a lie, but even as he thought that, Harry could feel the light attempting to pull away again so he just hugged him tighter.

"Did you have a bad dream too?"

Once more the man stiffened in his arms but it didn't last long.

"I guess I did."

That was strange. All the members of his new family were so brave that it was hard to imagine them being scared. Harry knew why he had bad dreams. It was so easy for others to shout at Freak and push him around. Unlike how this new family had been teaching Harry to be strong, Freak had been weak. Of course he had bad dreams. But Colonnello was so _strong, _what did he have to be scared of? A soft chuckle ruffling his hair let Harry know that he's spoken that last part out loud.

"Oh, a lot of things Colibri, but do you know what I do after them?"

Remembering the bang that had originally woken him up, Harry turned back to glare at the kitchen table, one hand coming up to gently pet the red spot on Colonnello's forehead before it was caught in a soft, but firm, grip.

"Ah, not that. That was just me being silly and you should never do that. Promise me Harry."

Those bright eyes were intense as they looked into his own and Harry couldn't look away, couldn't even blink, until he nodded in agreement and shriek as Colonnello swooped him into the air.

"Good boy. Now, after nightmares, the only real cure is… Chocolate! You need sweet things for sweet dreams don't ya think, Kora?"

The words were said with their normal playful energy, a large grin in place and a bounce in his step as the soldier made his way over to the cupboards, but Harry couldn't help thinking it was fake. The blue light was still dull and shy, nothing like the shining beacon it normally way. As Colonnello began to pull things down to the counter at frightening speed, Harry looped his arms around the man's neck and snuggled closer. It always helped him to be held after a nightmare, maybe it could help his friend too?

He didn't know how long he stayed there, face buried against the soldier's neck as he attempted to offer his own silent comfort, but he must have dozed off at some point because the next thing he knew, he was being placed into his booster seat at the table. The sudden lack of warmth was not something he appreciated in his sleepy state and he must have pulled a face because Colonnello was laughing, a quiet but true laugh this time, and a large hand was ruffling his hair.

"Here you go Colibri, Hot Chocolate, just what the doctor ordered!"

There was a mug placed in front of him, the little plastic one with the blue bird on it that Fon had given him after the bunny one Viper gave him disappeared on day. On top of the cup, shifting slightly in the steam rising from bellow, was a mound of something white and fluffy covered in brown flakes and little lumps of something pink and white. He wasn't sure he trusted it. Was the fluff even food?

"It's whipped cream Colibri. Try it."

Well, it wasn't as though they had ever played any tricks on him before, not like Dudley and the worms he would find in the garden then force Freak to eat, so he could give it once chance…

With the very tip of his little finger, he scooped up the smallest smear of the fluff he could manage before dropping it on his tongue and freezing. It was sweet. Really sweet.

Above his head, Colonnello laughed again, his light beginning to flicker back to its normal vibrancy.

"I knew you'd like it. The little lumps are marshmallows and beneath that it liquid chocolate, the perfect cure for a bad dream. Just be careful okay? It's hot."

Completely convinced now, he snatched up the mug and started to gulp down the drink. Yes, it was a little too hot, and it burned more than a bit as he poured it into his mouth, but it was so nice. He hadn't had anything like this before!

"Well, at least I remembered to cool it down a little first… I guess?"

Harry was pretty sure that he wasn't supposed to hear that, and he probably wouldn't, if he hadn't been paying such attention to the man next to him. As it was, he only looked up, pulling another confused man started laughing again.

"That's some nice facial hair you've got there Colibri, it gives you a very mature look!"

When he ran a hand over his face to figure out what Colonnello meant, Harry only managed to smear the whipped cream around even more, making the solider nearly fall out of his chair laughing. Looking at his hand, Harry's pout turned into a smirk as he got an idea and, quick as lightning, he darted forward to smear the cream all down Colonnello's face too making the man squawk in affront.

"Oh so that's how you want to do it? Well, it is _on _little man. En garde!"

What followed next was probably one of the most enthusiastic food fights that Harry would ever experience, even after a pair of twins snuck into his life and refused to leave and, despite the dressing down that Reborn had given them in the morning when he had found them asleep on the kitchen tiles, a full can of whipped cream smeared all around them, it only took one look at the soldier's smiling face for him to decide that it had been well and truly worth it.


End file.
